


Wok the Walk, Talk the Talk

by SoDoLaFaMiDoRe



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Look my chinese is rusty but I refuse to use google translate as a matter of pride, M/M, Multiple Languages, Slice of Life, so please bear with me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 16:08:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16245182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoDoLaFaMiDoRe/pseuds/SoDoLaFaMiDoRe
Summary: Just a quick one-shot set in Mrs. Cheng's store, along with all the tough love Eddie needs to eat an actual vegetable.





	Wok the Walk, Talk the Talk

**Author's Note:**

> Please forgive my poor Chinese I don't get to use it often but I am going to be retaking it/practicing more. (UPDATE: Edited one of the Mandarin lines to sound more natural, thank you Silvertongue!)

They had to appreciate a lady who could keep her cool. Mrs. Cheng had honestly taken seeing Venom eat someone in stride, even with the few droplets of blood still left on the floor. Her mind was still racing though, taking in exactly how _big_ Venom was. It was somewhat of a relief to see it turn back into Eddie, but she was still unnerved. 

“Eddie, does that hurt?”

“Honestly no. We kind of have a thing going where in return for sharing a body he keeps me healthy.”

“He?”

“Venom.”

“Can Venom hear us right now?”

“Yeah, he sees and hears everything I see and hear.”

“Oh. Well, thank you Venom. And good luck trying to take care of Eddie he never eats right.”

“Hey!”

_She has a point, you eat like shit._

\-------------

So Mrs. Cheng had took it well. Whenever they stopped by her store she would greet both of them, and give the symbiote tips on how to feed and care for a host, much to Eddie's humiliation.

“Honestly he should be using the tapes. They’re good for the mind.” 

“Mrs. Cheng I don’t speak Mandarin!”

“And I’ve told you a hundred times you should learn!”

As the argument devolved into the same old routine Venom’s curiosity was piqued. Rifling through Eddie’s memories, _their memories_ found that Mrs. Cheng read her daily news in Mandarin and would often scold Eddie in it too. Venom didn’t have much of a reference for her words so he couldn’t make out what she said, but the symbiote did appreciate that she had been looking out for Eddie in her own way. Mind resolved, he turned back to the conversation which had devolved to straight yelling in two languages as Eddie paid and wished her a good night.

\---------------

Symbiotes didn’t sleep. Eddie slept, but Venom was wide awake every night. After the first night of watching over Eddie and making sure the apartment was secure Venom was left bored with nothing to do. Until he spotted Eddie’s laptop. Pulling it over, it was easy to find the password in his memories and pull up the internet browser. So he had passed the nights learning earth things, or just watching Netflix depending on how he felt for the day.

With a goal in mind now, he began to search for resources. Youtube had a lot of videos in Chinese, most of them too advanced for him, until he found bopomofo. The weirdly animated video had been, enlightening to say the least, and with the basic pronunciation memorized Venom found another website with a bird advertising free Mandarin lessons.

It took a few days, but as Eddie went to Mrs. Cheng’s to stock up his fridge Venom started sneaking things into his basket. There were some oranges, bok choy, and a few other fruits and vegetables as those were good for hosts, even if they tasted like crap because they weren’t alive. It was easy to keep Eddie distracted until they got to the counter and he noticed just how heavy his basket was.

“Venom what the hell?”

Venom materialized on his shoulder in what Eddie had affectionately dubbed his ‘noodle form’, eyespots looking Eddie right on the eyes. “You need to eat better.”

Mrs. Cheng looked up from her newspaper, only startling slightly at the sight of Venom, who ignored Eddie’s protests and turned to greet her. 

“您好.” (Hello)

She froze, processing just what Venom was saying. “你好。你说中文说不说?” (Hi. You speak Chinese?)

“我学习所以我可以跟你说话.” (I learned it to speak with you.)

Turning to Eddie, who was watching the exchange completely befuddled, she started scolding. “See! He knows me two weeks and speaks Chinese quite well! You don’t have an excuse Eddie!”

“He’s an alien Mrs. Cheng!”

“And you’re smart Eddie follow his lead!” 

Before Eddie could open his mouth for another retort he noticed the bok choy. “What is this anyway?”

“这是青江菜。 真好吃了。” (That’s bok choy. It’s extremely tasty.)

“It’s a vegetable Eddie, eat it.” Venom piped up.

“Fine! Just lemme pay.” 

While Eddie fumbled for his wallet Mrs. Cheng reached under her desk and pulled out a chocolate bar, passing it over to where Venom perched on Eddie’s shoulder. “我很高兴认识你.” (I’m very glad I know you) Venom took it with thanks, happy chewing loudly in Eddie’s ear as he paid and continued to be scolded.

As Eddie walked out laden with bags full of actual food and not just toaster-oven meals, Venom began yelling bopomofo in the mindspace, all the walk home.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment!


End file.
